Mastering the Art of Pasta - A Simple Recipe

A little while back, I was treated to a birthday gift that has just kept on giving. I was booked onto a fresh pasta making course at Jamie Oliver's Recipease in Brighton. It was a great experience and I would definitely enrol on another course in the near future. We each had our own little kitchen station with all our ingredients neatly laid out for us. The chef was super helpful and instructive and it was great to be able to understand exactly how the pasta dough is meant to feel at each stage of prep, something that is difficult to appreciate from a cook book. This just so happened to coincide with another birthday gift; a shiny new pasta machine and "The Pasta Bible", which literally documents every type of pasta known to man! Thus, I have been obsessed with pasta ever since!

Once you've made and tried fresh pasta you'll be reluctant to endure the dried stuff ever again! Although it does take a bit more time and effort, the end result is well worth it. I won't profess to being an expert in the anatomy of all things pasta related, but following are the techniques that I've been taught and I'll also give a few helpful tips along the way. This blog post will provide a step by step guide for a very simple dish of fresh tagliatelle in a tomato, basil and garlic sauce.

Specialist Equipment:
- Pasta machine is a must (Although it can be rolled out by hand, but life's too short for that!)
- A fluted pasta/pastry wheel
- Pastry brush

Ingredients:
- '00' Flour
- Eggs
- Tomatoes
- Fresh Basil
- Garlic
- Olive Oil
- Freshly grated Parmesan Cheese.



There are many recipes out there claiming to make the perfect pasta. But I'm sticking to a simple ratio, 1 egg to 100g of '00' flour, and this is roughly one person's portion of pasta. (TIP: This can depend on the size of the eggs you are using. I tend to use medium eggs, not too big, not too small).

Method:

Pasta =
-  Measure out your required amount of flour (depending on how many portions you wish to make) and make a well in which to crack the egg/s.
- Use a fork to break the yolk and begin mixing in the flour, incorporating it little by little until the mixture is no longer liquid but is in a managable state.
- Now we get our hands dirty! The dough must be kneaded, similar to kneading bread, in order to make it silky smooth but robust! Push the dough away from you using the heel of your hand and then fold it back and repeat. As long as you give the dough a good work out it doesn't matter too much about your technique.
- Keep working the dough until it is completely smooth all over and is elastic. (TIP: press your thumb into the dough, if it immediately springs back then you're pretty much there!)
- Shape your dough into a ball, wrap in clingfilm and pop in the fridge for half an hour ish (TIP: wrap each portion separately as it will make it easier to handle when you're rolling it out later and will prevent the pasta sitting on the side, drying out)

While the pasta is resting we can set up the rest of our equipment and make a start on the sauce.

Sauce (Based on 1 portion) =
- Heat a little olive oil in a pan and add two cloves of garlic using a garlic press to prevent your hands from getting all stinky. Be careful that the oil isn't too hot or the garlic will burn in the blink of an eye!
- Add 3 or 4 quartered tomatoes, again this depends on the size of your tomatoes and how saucy you like it! (TIP: If you're fussy like me and don't like the skins on then make a little slit on the bottom of each tomato and pop them in boiling hot water for about 30secs to 1min. The skins can then be easily removed)
- I tend to add a little squidge of tomato puree and a squirt of ketchup at this stage, it just brings out that rich, sweet tomato flavour.Oh and season with salt and pepper of course.
- Once the tomatoes have reduced a little, turn off the heat and it can be warmed through later.

Back to the pasta =
- (TIP: Use a pastry brush to dust out the pasta machine of dry bits of pasta from the last time it was used. NEVER use water to clean your pasta machine as water + pasta = sticky mess!)
- Flour the surfaces you are working on, and liberally dust your pasta machine with flour. You don't want sticky pasta to clog the rollers so ensure the dough is lightly dusted with flour to prevent this.
- Flatten the ball of dough into disc shape and feed it through the machine on its widest setting. Fold the rolled out dough into thirds and then feed it back through on the widest setting again. Repeat this 2 or 3 times, or until the sheet of dough is nice and smooth.

- (TIP: Pasta machines aren't all the same. The number of settings differ and the widest setting can sometimes be either a low or high number. So just familiarise yourself with your machine and make sure you know which level is the widest).
- At this point, you need to work the dough down through the machines settings from wide to narrow. It is not necessary to go to the absolute narrowest. As all machines are different it's difficult to instruct which level is suitable. But generally you want your pasta to be the thickness of a beer mat, or a playing card if you're making a stuffed pasta like ravioli.
- (TIP: The sheet of pasta will probably become ridiculously long so use the pastry wheel to cut it into a more manageable size.) 
- Once the pasta is of the correct thickness you can then use your cutting attachments to slice the sheets into wiggly strands of tagliatelle! Place your finished pasta on a floured wooden chopping board or tea towel. (TIP: Ensure the strands are completely coated in flour to prevent them from sticking together in a big stodgy lump!)
- The pasta can sit there until you're ready for it to take the plunge!


The best thing about fresh pasta is, although it takes a while to prepare, it literally cooks in a couple of minutes. Cooking time depends on how thick the pasta is and how you personally like it cooked. If you like it 'al dente' then it'll take around 2 minutes or sometimes even less, if you like it a bit softer then it can take around 4 minutes. It really boils down to taste, so just try a bit and see if it's ready for you.
(TIP: Ensure the water is already boiling and is well salted to add extra flavour to the pasta).

- Reheat the sauce and add some fresh basil. Plop the pasta in the boiling water. Once the pasta is cooked combine the two and give it a good toss!
- (TIP: Don't bother draining the pasta or rinsing it. Instead, scoop the pasta straight from its water into the sauce pan. That way you will transfer some of the starchy water which will help the sauce coat the slinky strands of pasta.)

- For the finishing touch add a little drizzle of olive oil and freshly grated parmesan cheese . Nom!

And there you have it. Considering there are essentially 7 ingredients, it's very simple and very tasty.